Anionic Polymerization of ε-Caprolactone Using Potassium tert-Butoxide/18-Crown-6 Initiating System

By : Yan Wang, Li-Fang Zhang, Xiao-Qi Wang

Page No: 77-89

Abstract
The effect of 18-crown-6 ether (18C6) on the anionic polymerization of ε-caprolactone (ε -CL) using potassium tert-butoxide (t-BuOK) as the initiator was studied. The experimental results showed that 18C6 in combination with t-BuOK exhibited high selectivity for ring opening relative to trans-esterification and improved control toward the ROP of ε-CL, producing poly(εcaprolactone) (PCL) with much higher molecular weight and relatively narrow distribution compared to those using t-BuOK alone as the initiator.The influences of reaction conditions, such as monomer concentration, monomer/initiator molar ratio, and [18C6]/[t-BuOK] molar ratio, as well as reaction temperature and time on the polymerization have been examined in detail. The resulting hopolymers were characterized by various analytical techniques, such as GPC, FTIR, 1 H NMR, DSC, TGA, and MALDI-ToF MS, to monitor the structures and property changes of PCLs.

Authors
Yan Wang
Analytical & Testing Center, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, P.R. China.

Xiao-QI Wang
Institute of Material Chemistry, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, P.R. China.

LI-Fang Zhang 
Collaborative Innovation Center for Shanxi Advanced Permanent Magnetic Materials and Technology, Linfen 041004, P.R. China
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2020.37.1-2.6